Forex reserves hit $25b
The countrys foreign exchange reserves yesterday crossed $25 billion-mark for the first time thanks to the stable growth in exports and remittance earnings.
The amount is enough to meet the countrys import bills for seven months. The reserves crossed the $24.09 billion mark on April 15 this year. A stable flow of remittances and export earnings contributed to the rise.
According to Bangladesh Bank data released yesterday, the reserve stood at $25.02 billion, which is 17 per cent higher than $21.27 billion a year ago.
The strong reserves allow a country to get higher credit rating and help its private sector get loans from foreign sources at low interest rates.
The central bank attributed the achievement to the stable exchange rate with local currency, increased export and satisfactory growth in the remittance inflow.
The BB data shows Bangladeshi expatriates remitted some $970 million in the first 19 days of the month (from June 1 to June 19).
In the past 11 months (July-May), Bangladesh received $13.88 billion in remittance, which was 7.21 per cent more than the same period of previous fiscal year. The amount was around $12.94 billion in the same period in 2013-2014.
The previous highest reserve position was $24.09 billion on April 15, this year. It dropped after clearing Asian Clearing Unions bills of $1.01 billion for March and April.
The reserves crossed the $24 billion mark again on June 9.
The country received around $1.3 billion in remittance in April and around $1.34 billion in March. Bangladeshi expatriates sent $1.32 billion in May. In July 2014, the expatriates remitted around $1.5 billion which was the highest for a single month.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), export earnings in the July-May period of the current FY posted a 2.08 per cent growth over the previous corresponding period to reach $28.14 billion.
On December 10, 2009, the forex reserves were $10 billion before they crossed $15 billion in April 2013.
